What to do if you get sperm in your eyes

Semen contains much that you do not want swimming in your eye like citric acid, enzymes acid, lipids—basically, a lot of things that provoke pain.

In Your Eye
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In Your Eye

What happens when your partner accidentally shoots sperm into your eye? First things first: expect to scream, place blame, and dramatically wallow in agony.

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Serious risks

The scary thing? You can’t rule out contracting an STI when semen splashes your eye. The San Francisco AIDS Foundation reveals that it’s unlikely to get HIV this way, but it’s definitely possible.

Apparently, 'HIV can pass through the mucous membranes of the eyes.' Don’t be scared, though—it’s highly unlikely that you may contract HIV from getting semen in your eye.

However, your chances of getting chlamydia and gonorrhoea are slightly higher (but still super low). If the pain fails to cease after a couple of hours and your vision starts to change, you may want to visit a doctor.

Rinsing it out properly

What actually happens when you get semen in your eye? Among the components of semen, you'll find stuff like sugars, enzymes, and acids, something your fragile and sensitive ocular membranes will very much dislike. Expect irritation, burning, redness, tears aplenty, light sensitivity and a blurred vision. And it's going to get worse the longer you don't do something about it.

So how to rinse out the unwelcome baby batter? Ideally, a sterile eyewash solution would work best. But more realistically, you should grab the closest bottle of purified drinking water (just make absolutely sure it is plain and flat). In a pinch, drinkable tap water can also work. The one thing you must NEVER use, however, is soap. That would be jumping from the frying pan into the fire

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